


You’re like the Net under the Ledge

by kingclaytnim



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 12:34:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5164049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingclaytnim/pseuds/kingclaytnim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She didn’t know how long she would hold on. She was thirsty, hungry, cold, her whole body hurt… She just hoped Tony would soon find her… She knew he would, she trusted him, she just… She wanted out of this nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You’re like the Net under the Ledge

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this story while bored to death in a 2 days-conference. Now that I think about it, it might have been slightly inappropriate to think about that while people were talking about biomedical devices' regulations, but whatever.
> 
> The title is from the song "Something I need" by OneRepublic. I saw a Pepperony fanvid using it a little while ago, it's a great song, I love it, and it's such a perfect song for them.
> 
> I'm sorry if there are mistakes, english isn't my first language, and this wasn't beta'd.
> 
> Please leave some comments!  
> Enjoy!

It was the second day.

 

They had taken her yesterday morning, whoever they were. Just like every day, she had gotten out of the office, alone, to grab a cup of coffee at the shop across the street. Before she realized what was happening, she was in the back of a van, held by men with masks.

 They quickly put some kind of a night mask on her eyes, a gag in her mouth, and cuffed her hands behind her back.

They had put her in a room, by herself. The mask and the cuffs were still in place but they had taken the gag off.

Later, they had come and they had asked questions about Tony, about Iron Man; about the Avengers and SHIELD. She hadn’t answered any of them.

And then they had raped her; several times.

They had left her alone in the room afterwards, on a bed. She felt dirty, and cold, with her shirt ripped open hanging from her shoulders. Her bra, her skirt and her panties were also ripped. She couldn’t stop sobbing.

She barely slept that night, she was terrified. Sometimes, the exhaustion was too much and she would doze off, but she would wake up in a startle at every little sound.

In what she supposed was the morning, someone had entered the room. Not being able to see was making her feel even more helpless and desperate.

A voice just said “water”, and a bottle was held against her mouth and she drank as much as she could.

The person, she supposed it was a man, took her to a bathroom and she was back in the room in 10 minutes. She hadn’t been able to see anything of the place.

Later, men came again and asked the same questions. Again, she refused to say anything. Again, they raped her.

 

She was alone in the room, still on the bed, with her clothes still torn apart. She had cried so much, she didn’t think she had anymore tears left to shed. And yet, here she was, crying, sobbing, shaking. She didn’t know how long she would hold on. She was thirsty, hungry, cold, her whole body hurt… She just hoped Tony would soon find her… She knew he would, she trusted him, she just… She wanted out of this nightmare.

It had now been a few hours since the man left. At least, she supposed it did. Suddenly, she heard a lot of noises outside of her room. It seems like people were running and shouting. She curled up on the bed, worried that they would come back, but no one entered. There was just more shouting, and then she heard gun fires.

She started to realize what was probably happening. He was here. He was coming. He did it.

Suddenly, she heard the room’s door fly open with a bang and she curled up even more, trying to protect herself from whoever entered the room.

            “Pepper!”

She heard Tony’s synthesized voice. He was in the suit. She started to cry again, in relief and despair at the same time.

Suddenly, she felt something touching her shoulder and she backed off quickly, in defense.

            “Pep… Pepper, Pep it’s me. It’s over, it’s fine, it’s gonna be fine, just…”

She heard the sound of the suit unfolding to free Tony.

            “It’s me Pepper, I’m here. Get me a blanket!!” She heard him shout.

His voice wasn’t synthesized anymore. She felt his hand on her shoulder and she didn’t move this time. He slowly took the mask off her eyes. She tried to open them but the light was too much and she just shut them again.

Tony’s hands were on her face.

            “Pep, can you hear me Honey?”

Pepper nodded. She was still crying.

            “Tony…” She said weakly.

            “I’m here, I’m right here. It’s gonna be fine Pepper, I promise. It’s over. I’m so sorry.”

“Cold…” She murmured.

            “The blanket!!” Shouted Tony.

Pepper heard people moving. There were other people in the room, she realized. She tried to open her eyes again, and even though the light was still too much, by squinting her eyes she could discern the form of several persons.

            “Tony… Just you…”

            “Get out! Everybody get out!!”

Pepper heard fumbling, and then she felt something warm pulled around her shoulders. Tony’s hands were tightening around her shoulders, holding the blanket in place.

            “I’m gonna take off the cuffs, ok Honey?”

Pepper nodded again. She was trying to get used to the light and she saw Tony’s gauntlet fly to get around his hand, and he broke the cuffs with it. The gauntlet flew again to the suit, and Tony took her wrist and delicately massaged them.

            “God I’m so sorry Pepper. I’m gonna take you out of here. Can you walk?”

            “I… Think.”

            “I’m gonna help you.”

Tony helped her get on her feet and put a hand around her waist to support her. She leaned on him and he took her out of the building, carrying her more than supporting her, holding the blanket over her shoulders, the suit following them, like a bodyguard.

________________

 

They went in one of the quinjets. Tony sat her down and stayed next to her. He still had an arm around her shoulders, trying to keep her warm. Pepper was still crying, but less violently than before.

She noticed that they were other people in the quinjet: the pilot, 2 SHIELD agents, Steve and Natasha. But all of them stayed as far away from them as possible, probably trying to give them some privacy.

Tony spent the whole flight murmuring her reassuring things, promising her that everything would be alright, and that the nightmare was over.

________________

 

When they arrived at the helicarrier, Tony once again helped Pepper to walk to the hospital wing. She didn’t seem to have anything broken, but she had a lot of bruises, and she was too exhausted to walk without his help. Even if she hadn’t been, Tony wasn’t sure he could have let her walk on her own.

Once arrived in the hospital wing, a female doctor guided them to a room where she would examine Pepper. Tony helped her to sit in a chair and the doctor motioned him to leave the room. He wasn’t too fond of the idea but when he looked at Pepper, she nodded.

            “I’ll be right outside the door Love, I’m not going anywhere,” he told her.

Pepper gave him a weak smile and he got out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

He immediately lost the mask of calm he had tried to keep around Pepper and clenched his teeth, closing his eyes. How could he have let them hurt her?... He had betrayed her trust, he had broken his promise. Not only didn’t he keep her safe, but she had been hurt because of him.

            “Excuse me, Mr. Stark.”

Tony opened his eyes and turned to one of the agents who helped the extraction.

            “Yeah”, said Tony, his voice tired and strained.

            “We need to debrief with Ms. Potts as soon as she’s done with the doctor.”

Tony clenched his teeth.

            “Not today”, he simply answered.

            “I’m sorry sir, but we need to ask her questions.”

            “I said, not today.”

Tony clenched his fists. How could this guy think… Pepper went through too much already, she didn’t need that.

            “I have to insist sir. Those men probably asked her questions…”

            “I know”, Tony interrupted him.

            “We need to know what those questions were and what she told them…”

            “I know”, repeated Tony, his voice more strained.

            “They probably used torture to make her talk, obviously they raped…”

            “I KNOW!!” Shouted Tony.

He wasn’t sure how, but his right fist was now in a hole in the wall. His vision was blurred by unshed tears in his eyes, and he was breathing loudly. Closing his eyes, he put his hand away from the wall and rubbed his eyes, his head turned toward the floor.

            - “Not today”, he managed to say again.

He straightened up and turned to the agent who opened his mouth; but before any sound could come out of it, a hand landed on his shoulder. Captain America was standing right next to him.

            “That’s fine Agent, I’ll handle it. You can go.”

The Agent wasn’t sure what to do but he wasn’t going to disobey a direct order from Captain America. He left and Steve turned to Tony.

            “Not today Cap”, said Tony again.

            “I know Tony, it’s fine, I’ll handle Fury.”

Tony nodded and released a long breath. Then he put his back against the wall and let himself slip to the floor, his head in his hands. He felt Cap sitting next to him.

            “How could I… This is my fault…” said Tony.

He felt tears slowly rolling down his face. He had let her down.

            “It’s not, Tony.”

Tony lifted his head and looked at his fellow Avenger, his facial expression clearly saying “don’t lie to me”.

            “You did the best you could, and without you, it would have taken us a lot more time to find her.”

            “Without me, she wouldn’t have been kidnapped in the first place.”

            “Don’t go down that road. She needs you right now.”

            “I know”, murmured Tony.

Steve put his hand on his shoulder, pressing it a bit, and got up.

            “I’ll go see Fury. Take care of her.”

Tony nodded in thanks and rubbed his face to try and hide his crying. He needed to be strong for her. He needed to pull himself together for when the door of the consultation room would open.

About 20 minutes later, the door opened.

            “You can come in Mr. Stark”, said the doctor.

Tony quickly got up and entered to room, his eyes searching for Pepper.

She was sitting in one of the chairs facing the doctor’s desk, wearing sweats with the SHIELD’s logo on them. He sat next to her and put his hand on her arm. She immediately backed off a bit. He felt so guilty all over again. Of course she would be wary of any kind of touch. Trying to not show hurt on his face, he put his hand away but before he could, she grabbed it, holding it in place. Giving her a little smile, Tony started stroking her hand with his finger.

            “How you feelin’?”

            “Tired”, whispered Pepper.

            “We’re gonna go home.”

He turned to the doctor, waiting for the confirmation that they could indeed go home.

            “I have no objections. There’s nothing broken, and the bruises will soon fade away. But as I was saying to Ms. Potts, I highly recommend for her to talk to a professional.”

Tony nodded. Whatever she needed, he would make sure she had.

            “Good. Well, here’s the prescription for the antibiotics”, she said, handing a paper to Tony while looking at Pepper. “I’ll send you the results as soon as possible, and we’ll talk again then.”

            “I’m sorry”, said Tony, confused. “Antibiotics? Why…?”

            “It’s a preventive treatment in case of STDs. If the results come clean, she won’t have to take them anymore.”

Tony clenched his teeth and he held the prescription tighter. The doctor tried to give them an encouraging nod and left the room.

Tony turned to Pepper.

            “I’m sorry Pepper. I’m just… So sorry.”

His voice broke. Pepper was glancing at him but mostly, she kept her eyes fixed on their hands.

            “Please… I don’t want to… Not now… Can we go home? Please?”

            “Of course, whatever you need.”

Tony got up and once again helped Pepper to her feet. She seemed a little less weak, and Tony noted water and biscuits wrappings on the table. It seemed that eating and drinking had given her a little more energy. Still, she leaned on him and they left the doctor’s office.

________________

 

They took a quinjet again to get back to Stark Tower. This time, it was only the two of them. Tony got them in the air and then asked JARVIS to take the wheel, so to speak.

He went to Pepper who was in a sit in the back. He really didn't know what to do, or what to say. He felt like his proximity was bugging her a bit now, maybe making her uncomfortable. He decided to sit across her instead of next to her. He opened his mouth, not quite sure about what he was gonna say, but Pepper, her eyes fixed on the floor, beat him to it.

“Tony, I just... I need some space...”

“I don't know what to do Pep. I don't know how to help you. I wanna help you.”

“I know... I just... I don't know what I need Tony.”

She seemed so lost, so hesitant... She was trying to look strong, but Tony could see through her mask, he could see how hurt she was.

He really wasn't sure about the next words he was gonna say, but he had to try.

“Maybe if you'd talked to me, tell me...”

“No”, she cut in.

He shut his mouth, waiting for more. She lifted her eyes to look at him.

“I can't. Not... No.”

She sighted.

“Please Tony, go back to piloting.”

“JARVIS can do it on his own.”

“Tony, please, give me space.”

He looked at her and, running his hand across his face, he got up and went back to the pilot sit.

________________

 

The trip was quite quick. They were now in the living room of the Stark Tower's penthouse. Tony really didn't know what to do. He looked at Pepper. He could see how tired she was. She needed sleep. Sleep and... Food!

“I'm gonna get you something to eat. You wanna...”

“I 'm gonna take a shower”, she said.

Tony nodded and watched her go to their bedroom, then went to the kitchen. She needed comfort food. He managed to make her grilled cheese, with JARVIS help, and when he was done and she still wasn't back, he walked to the bedroom.

The bathroom's door was closed, and when Tony got closer to it, he could hear not only the water running, but also Pepper sobbing.

He felt his chest tighten. He was about to open the door when JARVIS spoke, low enough that Pepper wouldn't hear him in the bathroom.

“I think it would be best if you didn't enter, Sir.”

Tony clenched his teeth.

“What do you know about what's best?”

The question was mostly asked rhetorically, but JARVIS answered anyway.

“According to my research on rape victims, they are often wary of contacts for a certain period of time after the facts, and need to be given space to reacquaint themselves with their close ones.”

Tony closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the door. He could still hear the sobs. Taking a deep breath, he stepped away from the door and slowly left the room.

“J, tell her food is ready when she is. As kindly as you can, please.”

“Very well, Sir.”

________________

 

When Pepper finally came out of the room, she was wearing one of his sweats and a t-shirt of his. It wasn’t what she usually wore at night. She usually preferred wearing shorts. Tony guessed that she was trying to cover herself, and her bruises. He had already seen them all when he had rescued her, of course. But he wasn’t going to point that out. If Pepper wanted to wear sweats, then she would wear sweats.

Tony was doing his best to be as convenient as possible with Pepper, making sure she had everything she needed while also trying to not be too much for her.

He watched her eat without talking. She ate all of it, clearly hungry. When she was done, Tony got up.

            “Time to go to bed.”

Pepper looked at him with uncertainty. Tony immediately realized that he had made another faux-pas.

            “I mean I… I’ll be sleeping… guest rooms… don’t worry”, he stammered.

Pepper looked at the floor again.

            “I’m sorry Tony”, she whispered.

            “No Pepper, no. Don’t be. I told you, whatever you need.”

She looked up and he tried to give her a little smile.

Pepper finally got up and disappeared in the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Sighing, Tony collapsed on one of the sofas and turned on the TV, more to have a background sound than to watch it.

He felt the distance between Pepper and him. He understood her need for space, but it was so hard.

At first, when they had found her and on the way back to the helicarrier, she had only wanted him to be with her. His presence, his touch, and his voice had reassured her, after what she had gone through.

Then had come the jumping and backing off at every touch. Of course Tony understood it, even expected it when he had seen what those monsters had done to her. But she had took his hand in hers, making sure he didn’t think she was wary of him.

Now, she was distancing herself as much as she could. No touching, no talking. Fuck, she barely looked at him.

Of course if that was what she needed, then that was how things were going to be. But Tony couldn’t help himself thinking that talking would help her.

A vicious little voice in his head kept telling him that all of this was his fault, and he only wanted Pepper to talk to him so she could absolve his sins… He really hoped the voice was wrong.

________________

 

            “Tony…”

Tony woke up at the sound of Pepper’s voice and her gentle hand on his shoulder. He had fallen asleep on the couch. He turned to Pepper to see tears on her cheeks.

            “Pep…” He said, reaching for her, his heart aching.

Pepper sat next to him, accepting his hand on her cheek.

            “I woke up and… You weren’t there and I thought… I was there…”

            “Shh”, Tony said, framing her face with both his hands. “It’s ok, you’re here, with me. I promise you it won’t happen again. I’m gonna keep you safe, Honey.”

Pepper put her hands on his wrists and let out a sob, closing her eyes. Tony leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. He would keep his promise. He wouldn’t let her be in harm’s way again.

Pepper looked at him.

            “Can you come to bed with me?”

            “Of course.”

They got up and went to the bedroom. Tony changed and joined her in bed. He lay down on his back and Pepper put her cheek on his torso, using him as a pillow. He tentatively put his arm around her shoulders and Pepper didn’t protest.

They didn’t talk at first. Listening to her breathing, Tony knew that she wasn’t asleep. But maybe staying silent was what she wanted.

            “It was stupid…”

Pepper’s voice broke the quiet.

            “What was?” Asked Tony.

            “Going out of the office, alone, around the same time everyday… Easy target…”

            “Hey… Hey, don’t say that. It’s not your fault Pep.”

After a pause, Pepper talked again.

            “It’s not yours either.”

            “Pep…”

            “I know you’re beating yourself up.”

            “Don’t think about me”, he said softly.

She paused again.

            “I knew you would come.”

Tony closed his eyes.

            “I wish I had come sooner.”

She gripped his shirt tighter.

“I knew you would come. I told them you would.”

The room went quiet again.

“Did you catch them?” She asked.

“Don’t think about that.”

“Did you catch them?” She insisted.

“I… Yes, I think we got some of them. I’m not sure, I was… I wanted to find you.”

Pepper nodded. The silence lingered this time. Suddenly, Tony felt his shirt getting damp. Pepper was crying.

            “Pepper…”

Tony put both his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

            “It was so easy”, she sobbed. “They just… grabbed me, put me in a van and it was done… I couldn’t move… or see… And then I was in this room and…”

Pepper stopped talking. Tony was stroking her shoulder.

            “Tell me Honey.”

And so she did. She told him everything, the questions, and the men, and the mask, and the cuffs, and the rapes… She cried a lot, and so did he. As strong as he wanted to be for her, he couldn’t hold back the tears when hearing about what the love of is life had gone through.

Finally, about an hour later, Pepper fell asleep against his damp shirt, from the exhaustion of the last couple days and from the crying.

Tony didn’t sleep. He spent the rest of the night holding her against him, whispering to her when she got agitated, clenching his teeth every time he thought about those monsters.

________________

 

When Pepper woke up, she almost immediately got away from him. Tony didn’t comment and with a bit of an apologetic look, she went to the bathroom.

Tony realized that having him close at night was grounding her, assuring her she was in her own bed, and not there again, but aside from that, she was still wary of touches.

Rubbing his hands against his face, Tony got up and went to the kitchen. He needed coffee if he was going to go through this day without any sleep.

Now, he had a plan for the day. First, he was going to find a therapist for Pepper to talk to, clearly she needed help, and he could see that his wouldn’t be enough. Second, he was going to go to SHIELD by himself, and give them the questions those sons of bitches had asked her. Really, SHIELD didn’t need any other details of what had happened, and Pepper really shouldn’t have to explain every awful detail to some soulless SHIELD agent. She didn’t need an interrogation; she needed a compassionate and professional ear.

Once he had finished his coffee, Tony went back to the bedroom to get dressed, and try to start a conversation with Pepper. But when he got in, he saw that Pepper had laid down some of her work clothes on the bed, ready for her to put on. Damn, he hadn’t planned that she would be stubborn enough to want to go back to work right away; which, now that he thought about it, was stupid of him. Of course she was going to want to go back to work right away, it was Pepper!

The bathroom door was closed. Tony knew she was in there, applying make-up or getting her hair ready. Slowly, he knocked on the door.

            “Pepper, can I come in?”

He waited a bit but finally, the door opened. Pepper quickly went back in front of the mirror, tying her hair.

            “You should take a few days Pep.”

            “I don’t need a few days.”

Tony rubbed his eyes, sighing.

            “Look, I think it would be good if you just took a break. You know, we could…”

            “I’m going to work”, she cut in.

            “You’re exhausted.”

He got closer to her. Without thinking, he reached out to her, and when his fingers touched her shoulder, she flinched and backed off reflexively. Fuck, was he fucking stupid or what?!

            “Look”, he said, trying to act as if nothing had happened, “at least stay here today. Get more sleep. Maybe we could look at therapists, even get one over here today.”

            “I need things to get back to normal.”

            “You’re home. Taking a few days isn’t completely out of the ordinary.”

            “You don’t get it.”

            “You need to rest. It will be nice to stay at home a bit.”

            “NO TONY”, she shouted.

He was taken aback by her sudden outburst. But it didn’t stop there.

            “Staying here, thinking about it, it’s a nightmare! Nothing feels normal here! Jumping every time you touch me isn’t normal! You asking if you can come in the bathroom isn’t normal! You being so fucking cautious isn’t normal! Feeling terrified of leaving the penthouse isn’t normal!! I can’t… I need to…”

She was crying now. Tony got closer to her, without touching her. Seeing her like that was breaking his heart.

            “Babe, it’s gonna take some time. You can’t just pretend everything is the same. You’re gonna break down.”

She looked at him.

            “It’s normal to need time. Things are gonna get better. They’re gonna get normal. You just have to… Cut yourself some slack, ok?”

Pepper looked away and, finally, nodded.

            “You can still do a bit of work from here, ok? Just, slow down.”

Pepper nodded again.

            “Come, let’s eat.”

________________

 

Tony was flying in the suit to the helicarrier. He had left Pepper at Stark Tower, with a therapist.

He had managed to make her stay at home, at least for the day. And when he had brought up the subject of therapists again, she had had JARVIS get her the list she had made years ago, and updated regularly since. The therapists on the list were supposed to be for him, in case he’d ever want to talk to one, one day. They would do for her too; they were probably the best in the country. Damn was she organized.

And once they had agreed on one, a woman who was practicing in New-York, his name had done the rest to assure them to have an appointment on that day, at Stark Tower.

Tony was now going to complete his plan for the day and talk directly to Fury.

When he arrived on the helicarrier and parked, for lack of a better world, the suit, he found himself in front of Steve.

            “Good morning Tony.”

            “Hey Steve. Waiting for me?”

            “I saw you were coming, thought I’d meet you here.”

Tony nodded and they started to walk side by side.

            “How’s Pepper?”

            “She’s… You know.”

Tony shrugged and looked at the man walking next to him. Steve nodded, understanding that now was not the time to push the matter.

            “Going to see Fury?”

            “Yeah. I don’t want Pepper to have to talk to them. I’ll give him what they need and that’s it.”

Steve nodded again and walked him to Fury’s office.

________________

 

Tony left Fury’s office about an hour later. It had been long, but Fury finally understood that Tony wouldn’t change his mind on this. Even though having information delivered by a third party was not part of SHIELD policies (Tony had almost laughed at that one. Who could seriously care about any of SHIELD stupid policy when Pepper had been raped?), Fury made an exception and accepted the deal.

Tony was now going to go back to Stark Tower. Steve was again walking next to him when he saw 2 SHIELD agents escort a man to one of the cells, near the interrogation rooms. Tony stopped in his tracks. This face… He knew this face.

            “Tony…” Started Cap.

            “Is that…? That’s one of them!”

Tony started to walk towards the man but Steve stopped him, grabbing his arm.

            “Tony, calm down.”

            “I am calm, is that one of them?!”

            “Yes.”

Steve let go of Tony’s arm, but Tony didn’t move.

            “What do you know? What did they say?”

Steve sighed but talked anyway.

            “That one’s the guy in charge. I mean, he’s not the brain, but he was in charge of the crew that kidnapped and held Pepper. They didn’t say much. We don’t know who they work for or anything. It seems they wanted information.”

Tony nodded, his jaw still clenched.

            “Come on, let’s go Tony.”

Cap put a hand on Tony’s shoulder to get him to walk again, but Tony didn’t move and lifted a finger towards Steve to stop him.

            “I just… I’m gonna stay here for a while. Go do your things.”

Steve looked at Tony and then at the man in the cell. It was one of those cells in bullet-proof glass, secured by a very heavy security system. No risks there. Cap nodded and left him to lean against the wall.

Tony stayed there a good half hour, not moving, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the man in the cell. The agents working in the area were feeling a bit uncomfortable but didn’t say anything to him.

Finally, Tony pulled out his Stark phone, and spent another 10 minutes absorbed in whatever he was doing on it. Then, he pushed himself off the wall and walked straight towards the cell. He clicked on his phone once and the door opened. Before anyone could react, Tony had entered the cell, tapped his phone again, and locked himself in it.

Immediately, the agents started to shout outside the cell, calling him, calling their superiors.

They all became just white noise to him (“Mr. Stark get out of here!!”, “Someone call Fury!”, “Stark!”). He had hacked into the system; he was controlling the opening and closing of the cell. He would take them hours to take back control. And they wouldn’t be able to break the glass of the cell.

He focused only on the man in front of him.

            “Do you know who I am?” Asked Tony.

The man nodded, a little smirk on his face. Tony didn’t think for a second more. He punched the man in the face, making him loose his balance. The son of a bitch wasn’t smiling anymore, but he fought back. He launched at Tony and caught him in his middle, making him bang his back and head on the glass of the cell. Tony knocked him down using both his elbows to smack his back. He then threw him head first against the glass.

Tony saw Steve behind the glass, shouting at him.

            “Tony stop it!!! Stop it now!!”

Tony turned his head towards the monster who raped Pepper. The man launched at him again, and his fist met Tony cheekbone.

Filled with rage, Tony answered with a huge punched in the man’s face. He clearly heard and felt something breaking in the man’s face; his nose maybe. He didn’t care. He punched again, and again, and again.

            “Tony!! TONY!!! STARK!!!”

He could hear the shouting. He could hear people trying to break the glass. It didn’t matter. The man was on the floor, bleeding, and Tony was still punching; punching for Pepper, punching for him, punching because it was the only thing that was making sense.

Finally, and few punches after the man had gone completely limp, Tony let go of him. Slowly, he sat on the floor, putting his back against the glass, looking at the man. His face was bloody and was starting to swell.

The shouting seemed so far away.

He looked at his hands. They were shaking, and there was blood on them.

Tony tried to calm the shaking. Everything felt so weird, he felt as if he was hyper aware of his surroundings, every nerve of his body on high alert, and yet everything was a bit blurred. It was like he could remember every single detail of every single time his fist had met the man’s face, and yet couldn’t quite convince himself he was the one who had punched him, the one people were screaming at from outside the cell.

He took several deep breaths, and when his hands were a little steadier, he pulled out his phone and with some quick tapping, he opened the door to the cell.

Medics immediately rushed in the cell, going to the man. Steve and Fury entered next, going to him.

            “Stark are you out of your fucking mind?!!”

Fury was furious (His own pun didn’t manage to make him smile). Well, that’s not like it wasn’t expected.

            “He’s alive. That’s more than he deserves”, said Tony coldly.

He got up and exited the cell, Cap and Fury following him. Tony wanted to escape them, to get to the suit, put it on and go back to Pepper. But Fury took him by the arm and made him turn around.

            “You ain’t going anywhere Stark!”

            “What, you’re going to arrest me?” Tony snarled.

Tony was almost ready to go for another round, this time against Fury.

            “I just might! How dare you…”

            “How dare I?” Tony cut in. “This man’s a fucking monst…”

            “It’s not up to you to…”

            “Oh but it’s up to you, isn’t it? And what a bang up job you di…”

            “You can’t do this, make those decisions on you own and…”

            “I’m not one of your minions, Fury!”

            “Stop!!” shouted Steve.

Tony and Fury stopped shouting but they didn’t move, their faces just a few inches apart and their breaths heavy.

            “Director”, Steve started again, “maybe we should go in your office.”

Fury nodded, his eye on Tony, and then turned around and walked towards his office, Tony and Steve in his wake.

________________

 

            “What the fuck did you think you were doing?!”

            “I was making sure this guy was going to regret he ever put a hand on Pepper!”

They were all back in Fury’s office. A medic was taking care of the cuts on Tony’s cheek and hands while he and Fury were still arguing.

            “You can’t do that, ever again!”

            “I won’t have to do that ever again”, Tony said, his voice suddenly lower but firmer.

The weight of those words, of the promise behind them, kept everyone quiet for a moment. Finally, Tony’s cuts were clean and the SHIELD medic left the room.

             “Look, Nick”, started Tony, “I get that you’re not happy about it. But you haven’t seen her… You haven’t heard…”

Tony took a shaky breath, shaking his head.

            “I had to.”

Fury didn’t answer and the silence stretched out again.

Tony did know that by beating up that guy, he had tried to fight back the helplessness he was feeling since he had heard that Pepper had been kidnapped. He also knew that it hadn’t helped at all. It had felt kinda good doing it, but it didn’t change the fact that he had been, and still was, powerless.

He also was pretty sure that he wasn’t doing a good job at hiding those feelings, and that they were obvious for everyone, especially for Cap and Fury who were intently watching him.

            “Go home, Stark”, finally spoke Fury.

Without another word, Tony got up and left the office, and then the helicarrier.

________________

 

It had been a little over three weeks since Tony had lost it on Pepper’s kidnapper. When he had come back, Pepper had asked what had happened, pointing at the cut on his face and hand. Tony just shrugged, said he had just “blew off some steam” and they never mentioned it again.

The sessions with the therapist and the passing of time had helped immensely in those three weeks. Pepper was doing a lot better. She had been put off meds once the results from her tests came back negative. She had less nightmares and she didn’t flinch anymore if someone touched her. She also seemed to be less scared of her surroundings. She had gone back to work full time, she had found back her usual posture and she was laughing again. Things were getting back to normal.

Well, not every things. Tony barely had any physical contact with Pepper, apart from a hand on a shoulder or a quick peck on the cheek or the lips from time to time, nothing more. The rare times when he had tried to touch her (and he didn’t mean sex, just a hand on the waist or something similar), Pepper would tense up and get away from him.

Of course, Tony didn’t want to push her. Things were slowly getting back to normal, and they would too in that department. He knew that.

But right now, he was so horny. He was in his workshop, and he couldn’t get anything done because all he could think about was putting his hands on Pepper and ravish her. He was so glad Bruce had left to god knows where few days ago. At least he didn’t have to try and hide how distracted he was.

Realizing that he had spent the last 15 minutes staring into space, Tony got up.

            “J, save what I’ve done ok? I’m going upstairs.”

            “Very well, Sir”, answered the AI.

Tony took the elevator to his and Pepper’s floor and went straight to the bathroom, hoping a shower would cool him down.

The floor was empty, and Tony didn’t lose any time and jumped in the shower.

Unfortunately, the cool water didn’t really get the effect wanted, and Tony soon got tired of the coldness. He upped the temperature and put his head against the tile, closing his eyes.

Obviously, resistance was futile. He was already half hard, just thinking about Pepper, he should as well take care of it. But he wanted more than just his thoughts.

            “Jarv, you there buddy?”

            “Always for you, Sir.”

            “Give me a holo screen in the shower please.”

A screen appeared in front of Tony, and after quickly entering his access code, he found the video. Pepper and he had made it not so long ago. They had been a bit drunk, coming home from a party, and it had seem like a great idea to film themselves.

Tony launched the video and Pepper’s giggles filled the bathroom.

            “Come here babe”, he heard himself say in the video.

They were both already half naked, and he watched himself taking off Pepper’s underwears while kissing her deeply. Moans replaced the giggles and Tony started stroking his cock while watching, his back against the tiles and the water still pouring over him.

He was hard as ever now. His eyes were either fixed on Pepper’s beautiful and aroused body, or closed, his head thrown back. In the video, he had entered her, and each of her moans was getting him more worked up, making him stroke his member faster.

Finally, he climaxed in a strangled moan, and stayed under the water, slumped against the tiles, his eyes closed.

Pepper’s moans and his hoarse groans were still filling the bathroom. Just by the sound of it, he knew they were both about to come. He slowly opened his eyes to watch her, when the bathroom door suddenly opened.

            “Tony, I…”, started Pepper.

But she stopped when she heard the moans. Tony jumped forward to stop the video, but it was of course to late.

            “Pepper…” he began, reaching to open the showers door.

But before he could either get out of the shower, or continue his sentence, he heard the clicking of Pepper’s heels getting out of the bathroom.

            “Pep!”

Tony got out of the shower just in time to see Pepper’s back, rushing out of the bathroom.

            “Pepper!” he shouted, but she didn’t come back. “Fuck”, Tony muttered.

He yanked one of the towels from the handle and tied it around his waist, rushing out of the bathroom. He slipped in the bedroom because of his wet feet but he managed to not fall down and sprinted after Pepper. When he got in the living room, he saw Pepper getting into the elevator.

            “Pep!”

He ran after her and got in the elevator right before the doors closed. He faced Pepper, a little breathless, holding the towel around his waist. She was crying.

            “Pep, I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t quite sure what to say, he hadn’t thought that far, he just knew he had to get to her, to talk to her. Apologizing seemed like the next smart move.

            “I just… I’m stupid, please don’t cry, I’m sorry.”

            “No Tony, it’s just… It’s not you, it’s…”

She brought a hand to her face to wipe away the tears, and Tony tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t shrug it off.

Tony opened his mouth, ready to apologize again, when the elevator’s door opened on Clint. He looked up from his tablet, ready to enter the elevator, but the vision that welcomed him stopped him in his tracks.

            “What the fu…” he started, looking at Tony in just a towel.

            “Sorry, occupied”, Tony cut in, pushing the button to close the door, and then the one to get the elevator back to their floor.

He then turned again to Pepper.

            “I’m really sorry, Pepper. I shouldn’t have… done that.”

            “I don’t care that you get off watching our sex tape Tony!” she retorted. “I just… God…”

She brought her hand to her forehead, shaking her head.

            “You… noticed it was ours?”

            “Yeah Tony, I know I haven’t heard them in a while but I can recognize your moans”, Pepper snapped, frustrated.

Tony didn’t answer, clutching his hand in the towel, waiting for the elevator ride to be over. When the doors opened, he looked at Pepper.

            “Can we talk?”

Pepper looked at him and nodded, following him out of the elevator and in the bedroom. She seemed frustrated, and sad, and angry, and remorseful.

Tony quickly went in the bathroom to get another towel and dried himself off as fast as he could. When he came back in the room, the towel still tied around his waist but his body a bit less damp, he found Pepper sitting on the bed, her hands in her lap. He sat down next to her, and took her hands in his.

            “Talk to me, Honey.”

            “It’s just that… If it had been a month ago, I would have joined you, or you would have called me, or probably harassed me with horny texts and now…”

Pepper started to cry again. Taking a shaky breath, she let go of one his hand to wipe away the tears.

            “I know we haven’t had sex since… And just the thought of it… The proximity and… The intimacy… I can’t, not yet… But I know that you… I mean you’ve always needed… And I don’t want you to… I don’t know… I keep talking about it to Dr. Burnett… It’s been over three weeks now and you…”

            “I’m sorry if I made you feel… I don’t know, pressured I guess. That’s not, I mean, I didn’t mean to…” Tony started, feeling a bit disgusted with himself.

            “No! No, you’ve been the perfect gentleman actually”, Pepper said, breathing a shaky laugh. “I just… _Wish_ I would get past this and just…”

Pepper took another shaky breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm herself. Tony slowly stroked her hand with his thumb, trying to reassure and encourage her to go on.

            “I know you’re gonna say it’s stupid, but I can’t help myself worrying that… If I don’t get it right soon, you’ll go find what you need elsewhere…”

            “Pepper! I would never!… You… I mean, you know me, I wouldn’t!”

            “I know, I know… It’s just; sex is a big part of…”

            “Yeah but it’s not all of it! Come on, Pep. You know I love you; I’ll wait as long as you need. I did wait a pretty long time when we first started dating”, he said with a wink and a smile.

Pepper breathed another shaky laugh, but didn’t really seem to worry any less.

            “I know, but that was… I mean we’ve been together for several years now. That was a long time ago. And… Before… We were used to…” she hesitated.

Taking another shaky breath, she kept going.

“You see, even talking about sex with you makes me feel…”

Tony squeezed her hand, encouraging her to keep going, to get all of it off her chest.

            “We were quite active is all I’m saying, Tony. And I know you miss it. I know it’s burdening you, too.”

            “Okay, look, Honey”, Tony said, looking Pepper in the eyes, “I’m not gonna lie, or pretend. Yes, I miss the sex. I admit it, I miss it. And it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter at all. It’s nothing, I can manage that.”

He cupped her face in his hand, his thumb slowly rubbing her cheek, wiping the remains of her tears.

            “ _You_ matter. You are the _only_ thing that matters. I want you to get better, and that’s the only thing you need to focus on, ok? You don’t have to worry; I won’t go to anyone else to get laid. That wouldn’t even cross my mind. I swear, you have nothing to worry about there. I love you, and I’ll wait as long as you need me too. There’s no rush, ok?” he finished, with a little smile.

Pepper returned his smile. She seemed a little lighter, a little reassured. Not completely, but they would get there eventually.

            “Ok”, Pepper said, and leaned to kiss him.

Not a peck on the lips; a real kiss, the first in over three weeks.

________________

 

After that day, Pepper let Tony be more physical with her. As if she needed this conversation to be reassured that Tony wouldn’t take a hand on the waist as an invitation for more physical contact, for sex. And now that he thought about it, it was probably exactly it.

A couple months passed. Tony and Pepper were slowly more and more intimate. Pepper was now comfortable enough for some make out sessions. Tony took every opportunity he got to get closer to Pepper, while trying his hardest to not pressure her. They felt close to each other again, and that felt really good.

They were in the middle of one of those much enjoyed make out sessions. Pepper was half on top of Tony, kissing him, one of her hands resting in his cheek, the other laying on his chest. Tony’s hands were running along Pepper’s back.

Pepper moved slowly, straddling Tony’s waist while still kissing him. But her mouth grew hungrier, her hands roaming across his torso. Tony responded with as much enthusiasm, happy with the change of pace.

But quickly, the kissing got even more passionate. One of Tony’s hands got under Pepper’s top, caressing her skin, and the other one grabbed her butt. He started grinding against her. When he felt his pants getting a bit tighter, he suddenly realized this might be getting a little too much for her.

He put one of his hands on her cheek and gently pushed her away to separate their lips.

            “Pep”, he said, while she kissed him again. “Honey, we should slow down a bit.”

            “You want to slow down?” she asked, her eyes going from his lips to his eyes.

            “I just… I’m getting a little worked up here. I don’t want to make you feel…”

Pepper stopped him with another kiss, and she took off his wife beater.

            “I want this”, she said, kissing him again, her hand roaming across his now naked torso. “Just… Let me be in charge, ok?”

Tony nodded and pulled her closer to kiss her.

They took each other’s clothes off slowly, rediscovering each other’s body, caressing and kissing exposed skin. It felt so good, and so right.

 

Slowly, Pepper rose on her knees to guide Tony in her and sank onto him. She moaned lowly, but Tony let out a loud groan.

            “God Pep…”, he murmured.

Pepper smiled at him and bent down to hold his face and kiss him. A hand on her waist and the other on her butt, Tony kissed her back, hard. Pepper started moving and Tony was lost between the sensations in his body and the thoughts in his mind. He was feeling with intensity the purely physical pleasure, but his brain was also all over the place.

It was like he was feeling everything at the same time: lust, pain, accomplishment, pride, fear, victory, love…

Suddenly, he saw a tear running down Pepper’s cheek. His hand immediately reached her face, while the other, on her waist, steadied her.

            “Hey…”, he said lowly, reassuringly. “What is it? We can stop if…”

He stopped talking when Pepper shook her head, putting her hand over his on her cheek.

            “No, it’s not… It’s not bad tears.” She said in a watery laugh. “It’s just… Not only physical, you know?”

            “Yeah, I know”, he answered smiling at her.

            “And I’m just… Emotional”, she continued, smiling back.

            “I love you.”

            “I love you too.”

 

When she came against Tony’s fingers, Pepper said his name over and over again against his skin, and it only took him a minute to follow her.

They fell asleep holding each other, feeling lighter than they had in months.

________________

 

Months had passed. The kidnapping had taken place close to a year ago, and even though saying it was all in the past was exaggerating, Pepper was doing really fine. She was still seeing her therapist, but less often. She could do without now; the sessions were just to check in from time to time.

Her day to day life was completely back to normal. She just didn’t get coffee on her own anymore, and Tony had done a complete do-over of the security system of the tower.

 

Tonight, they had decided to watch a movie together since they had the room for themselves: Bruce was working in his lab, Steve was drawing in his room, Thor wasn’t on earth and Natasha and Clint were on a mission.

Tony had reluctantly agreed on a chick flick. He hadn’t even registered the name of the movie. It was always the same.

Girl collects douchebags. Girl vows to give up on men. Girl meets perfect man. Girl ends up with man after denial and a series of catastrophes.

But he was trying to win points with Pepper. He had, apparently, upset one or two board members. He wasn’t even sure how he had managed that, but she had been a bit mad at him when she had come back from the office.

Pepper actually didn’t seem to be into the movie. She was playing with his shirt, a hand on his torso.

            “Why did we put this movie if you don’t even watch it?”

Pepper laughed and grabbed his neck to kiss him.

            “Background noise”, she murmured against his lips, straddling him.

Tony hummed in approval, returning the kiss. He let his hand glide over her thighs left bare by her shorts, and then slowly opened her blouse, running his finger along her skin.

Pepper moaned and breaking the kiss, she took off Tony’s shirt.

He unhooked her bra without taking off her blouse, just getting access to her breast without removing all of her clothes. While his hands started teasing her nipples, he kissed her neck, sucking, biting and licking, encouraged by her moans.

            “Tony, do you have… Oh god I’m so sorry!”

 Tony quickly turned towards Bruce who was about to leave the room, his face red.

            “Banner!” he shouted.

            “I’m sorry”, the scientist said again.

            “It’s fine Bruce”, said Pepper with a laugh, getting off Tony’s lap, under his glare, and holding her blouse closed. “You needed Tony?”

Tony got up, scratching the back of his head. Apparently, sexy time was over for now, might as well help Bruce with whatever he was working on.

            “What d’you need?”

Pepper turned to him before Bruce could answer, putting a hand on his bare chest.

             “I’m going in the bedroom”, she said. “Don’t be too long…”

She walked away, and Tony watched her go, his eyes and her butt and legs.

            “God I love this woman”, he said once Pepper was out the room.

Bruce smirked at him. With a grin on his face, Tony grabbed his shirt.

            “So, what did you want?” he asked, putting his shirt back on.

            “It’s not important, just a theory I wanted to run by you. It can wait tomorrow.”

            “Sure?”

Bruce nodded.

            “You the best. See you tomorrow.”

            “I’d say “have a good night” but I think that’s pretty much assured.”

Tony winked at him and went to his bedroom, to Pepper.


End file.
